Bernie & all down there,
You certainly have my sympathies and prayers. Fire can be and is a very unpredictable thing. They can jump miles in a minute. We had several killed around me last Summer but nothing like what you have lost. And some of our fires are set by idiots that they can never find. I think if they catch them they should throw them into the fire. I keep hoping to see where they are getting the fires under control. You really need a good hard downpour there for a day or so, as the ground will to hot for several hours after the fires have passed to go in and do much. Best of luck to all of you.
Here is the latest news report that just went on-line here.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090209/...ralia_fires_30
Ron